Summon Spirits
by Cheralla
Summary: People who died long ago are beginning to reappear, along with powerful monsters and strange people. On top of that, what's with this distorted mana? Second gen fic, rated T for my own mouth. Post DotNW.


**Yes, I know I deleted my story Summon Spirits, but it was kind of stupid and I have a better idea for a second gen ToS/ToS2 fic. Laela's little obsession with squirrels is a joke about Ratatosk, which you'll see if you google it. I also deleted my Insert of Doom fic because I felt that I skipped too many things and it needed a rewrite. But I think if I write the important parts and go back to write the parts in between, I'll actually get a nice long chapter for once! Hooray!**

**Disclaimer: The author does not own Namco or the Tales Series, but wouldn't mind working for them someday.**

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A young girl stared out of a window in her bedroom, watching squirrels skip among the trees. The moonlight bathed the eight year-old's face and made her light blond hair seem almost white. Her eyes stood out among the rest of her, a ruby red color, kind of like blood. Her outfit was just a royal blue t-shirt and pants with gold edges; she didn't really give much thought or care to her appearance. Her hair was placed into what looked like high pigtails that somebody decided to braid.

She wasn't alone in the room. Her older sister and younger brother were also there, sleeping peacefully in the bunk beds on the other side of the room. Her older sister, Lucy had the same hair and pale skin, but it was sprawled across the bed and even hanging off the side. In the day, she had it pulled up into high pigtails, but it still went to her knees. The nine year-old had never once cut her hair. She was dressed in what could be described as a nightgown, same color scheme involved.

Her younger brother, Kai was on the top bunk, with pale skin and blond hair to match his sisters. His outfit was pretty much identical to Laela's. Probably the only visible differences between the two was that Kai had shorter hair and was younger, being about five.

The girl at the window, Laela, had to admit that she liked squirrels, as they were incredibly cute. She grabbed a pen and paper and began to draw a little doodle of a squirrel with a nut. She looked up to get another good look at a squirrel when she saw something that definitely shouldn't be there dash through the trees and along the side of her house. She quickly grabbed her practice sword and toy squirrel and dashed to her parents' room.

"Mom! Dad! There's a monster outside!" Laela yelled probably louder than she needed to and leaped up onto her parents' bed after running out of the room. "I was looking out the window and there were these cute little squirrels and then a big black lizard thingy went past the window and it was all like this. RAWR!" She ran around the room making sounds and trying to imitate the creature she saw.

"It's your turn to get it, Emil." Marta mumbled half awake. Monsters were pretty common where they lived, and it was no surprise that that creature showed up. In fact, Marta and Emil took turns at fighting monsters and Emil had even given each of the children one of his swords and fighting lessons just in case. He was actually pretty surprised she could carry the thing, let alone use it with skill, as it was about the same size she was. Though it could have been the fact that they were half summon spirit. Emil got up and grabbed his sword, strapping it around his waist and walking out of the room as Marta got up and told Laela to go back to bed.

Laela went back to her room, disappointed. She wanted to fight the monster, or at least watch the fight. She wished her parents would take her outside for a monster fight one day, that would be fun. She watched Lucy get up, grab her weapon, and walk outside as Kai went back to bed. She started petting her little toy squirrel, wishing it would do something entertaining when she heard a familiar sound and saw little swirls of darkness at her feet. Laela spun around and glomped a big black cat-like creature with violet lines and amber eyes while shouting her nickname for the creature. "Brae Brae!"

"I told you, my name is Tenebrae. Why are you still awake? You should be asleep." Said Tenebrae, allowing himself to be squished by the child.

"Why are _you_ still awake? You should be asleep." Laela directed the question back at him, smirking. She could be a bit sarcastic at times, but it was hard to tell because her voice had a very sarcastic tone no matter what mood she was in.

"I asked you first, young lady. Besides, we Centurions do not need-"

"Stop calling me that Brae Brae!" Laela cut him off, desperate to avoid another lecture about centurions or how great darkness was.

"The day you start calling me by my name is the day that I will call you by yours." Tenebrae wasn't a fan of nicknames, and really preferred to be called by his own name, but it was unavoidable. Laela called him Brae Brae and everyone else except for Emil and Marta called him Tenebie, thanks to Colette.

"On second thought, you can keep calling me young lady." Laela smiled and released the hug as Tenebrae rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, a crash was heard as a wave of distorted mana was felt. Marta got up and rushed down the hallway, weapon in hand. Laela tried to follow, but Tenebrae picked her up with his tail and flew out the window, ignoring Laela's protests and screams. "Come on, we're going the emergency escape route!" He practically had to drag the girl down the path, eventually just placing her on his back. "We'll have to come back in a day or two, once we know the monster is gone."

"But what about Kai and Lucy?" Laela protested.

"Lucy is with her parents and it is Aqua's job to keep Kai safe. They will be fine." Tenebrae reassured her. Laela mumbled something inaudible, but complied.

But before they could get out of the forest, another wave of distorted mana was felt. It was like a mixture of all elements. It had the feel of darkness and light mixed, with an uneasy feeling that made Laela and Tenebrae feel hyper, but weary as if under attack. And that feeling wasn't from running from the monster. Black iridescent chains spouted from the ground and pulled them down onto the ground, nearly flattening Tenebrae, who turned into a larger creature and tried to form a wall out of himself protecting Laela. A white mist rose from the ground and covered the entire area until everything went black.

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Lucy awoke to the voice of her little sister, sliding out of bed and grabbing her sword almost by reflex. In the past year her parents had allowed her to start fighting whatever monsters came up, but only if she wanted to. She didn't exactly welcome the screaming pain of her muscles the next morning after a battle, but she did welcome the thrill of battle she got and the pure joy of killing the monster. Okay, so she was a bit of a sadist, but at least she limited it to things that posed a threat. Lucy made a bit of effort to restrain herself on the subject.

Laela skipped into the room and sat on her bed as Lucy made her way out. She dragged her feet down the hall after her father, only really waking up when she saw the creature. That wasn't like any monster she'd ever seen, whether it was in a book or real. And judging from Emil's face, her father was at a loss as well. Where was Tenebrae when you need him to identify something? Oh yeah, that's right. He was with Laela and Kai.

They both charged at the creature, but it let out a high pitched scream that brought them both to their knees. Or at least it would have, if iridescent chains hadn't pulled them down, nearly flattening the two. The monster prepared to charge at them, but an explosion interrupted it's plans. And it wasn't fire mana like any normal explosion would be. This was more like distorted mana. It felt like mana, but it didn't at the same time.

A dark figure came out of the shadows, familiar white hair and amber eyes shining with joy, monsters with machines attached to them trailing behind her. "Alice!" She heard her father hiss. The door burst wide open as her mother rushed out, spinner in hand and a look of pure hate directed to Alice.

"Alice? I thought you were dead!" Marta growled, obviously not excited by the presence of the young girl. Of course, there was also the possibility that she could be a middle aged woman, but it was nearly impossible to tell.

"So did I. But that's all in the past now~" Alice sing-songed, looking quite happy. "The only thing that matters is that I'm alive and you won't be in a minute!" Her tone switched to a harsher tone and a look of ecstatic, malicious joy spread across her face. That kind of face a serial killer gives you when they're about to do something horrible to you. She mumbled something incoherent as Marta rushed at her, but was then taken down by the same chains that held Lucy and Emil firmly in the dirt.

"Alice, the boss wants them alive." A much deeper, male voice came from behind her. The person had gold eyes with slits instead of pupils, and long dark red hair pulled back into a ponytail, his messy bangs falling all around his eyes. He wore a black cloak with the hood down that had golden edges, and a gold rose symbol on the front right corner of his cloak.

"Oh Shadey, you're no fun!" Alice pouted, throwing her arms downward in protest.

"Could you hurry up? I wanna go kick that idiot Lloyd's ass." The third figure looked more like a gay disco dancer with pink fairy wings that made him look kind of like a girl. And the white one-piece spandex and waist length blond hair didn't help him appear more manly. In fact, if it had been any other situation Lucy would have giggled at his appearance.

"Fine! I'll make it quick." Alice grumbled disappointedly and her two comrades. "But Yggy, you owe me one! Take them away!" At her commands, the monsters rushed forwards, and everything went black.

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Kai didn't care if monsters came crashing into his room, he was going to get to sleep tonight, damn it. Even with one sister making scribbling sounds at her desk near the window, he was going to sleep. The insomnia needed to stop, and he would sleep like a rock if it was the last thing he did! Even with that cricket that had made it's home in his room in the last week. Stupid insect.

The five year old decided that origin hated him when Laela started to scream about some sort of monster outside of the window. He didn't care, he just wanted to sleep. You know, that thing he hadn't had in three days? Yeah, that. He clutched his white squirrel toy tighter, hoping it would put him to sleep. The siblings had a matching set, Lucy had a gray one, Laela had an auburn one, and Kai had a white one.

Kai attempted to go to sleep several times in the next few minutes, but was interrupted by his father walking down the hall to fight a monster, his oldest sister walking down the hall to fight a monster, and a huge explosion that eventually just made him give up. He might have ignored it, but even he wasn't dumb enough to not realize something was wrong with that mana. His mana sensing skills were still developing since he was only five, but he could recognize any one of the eight elements, and that was not one of them. Tenebrae, who had been talking to Laela, grabbed her and ran down the emergency escape route.

Just as Kai jumped out of bed, Aqua appeared in front of him, water rippling in thin air at her presence. "Come on, let's get out of here!" she grabbed him and flew out the window and upwards.

"Why aren't we following Brae brae and Laela?" Kai mumbled, rubbing the almost achieved sleep from his eyes.

"It's so that not everyone is in danger if one of us is followed." Aqua explained, transforming into a dragon-like creature and setting Kai on her back. "That's why the emergency escape is different for each person. We're going to Lloyd's house in Iselia, remember? …Are you having insomnia problems again?"

"Maybe..."

"A five year old should not have to deal with insomnia..." Aqua grumbled, then gasping at what she saw below her. Not only had Laela and Tenebrae disappeared, the others had been captured by Alice and Yggdrasil. Two people she knew well and wouldn't entrust anyone's lives to, much less a single coin. She swooped low to the ground out of sight, and sped up her flight just as Kai finally managed to drift off into sleep.

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Laela awoke in a world of... something. It was twisted and dripping with the distorted mana from earlier. It was endless swirl of colors with platforms hovering in place. Everything felt lightweight, as if gravity had little to no effect. It was pretty empty, with her and Tenebrae being the only visible life. Actually, they were probably the only life there.

"Are you all right?" Tenebrae asked, coming face to face with Laela as she sat up.

"Yeah... where are we?" Laela probably would have expressed her discomfort in this place, but she was still a little dizzy, confused, and exhausted. It would probably all hit her later. "What kind of Mana is that? It's weird..."

"It's twisted mana. And I'm afraid I can't say anything beyond that as even I don't know. Actually... I'm not sure if that's even mana."

"What? Then how are we still alive? Wouldn't we die without mana? I though it supported all life."

"Remember when I said Lord Ratatosk said that he was writing a new law, that humans wouldn't need mana to live?"

"Yeah, but you're a Centurion and I'm a half Summon Spirit. We don't count in that law thingy. ...How does Daddy plan to do that anyway? Is he gonna bug Origin?"

Tenebrae rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's really the most important topic of discussion right now."

"Oh yeah... how are we gonna get out of here?"

"I feel a bit of dark mana coming from that direction." Tenebrae tilted his head upwards and towards the left. "We might be able to exit through that leak."

"Still doesn't tell us how we're still alive. Maybe it's mana mixed with other stuff?" Laela looked in the direction Tenebrae was facing. "I don't feel any dark mana... must be really far off."

"Possibly. I can usually feel mana, especially dark mana from quite a ways away. This, however is very faint."

"I wonder if the others are all right."

"It could be pure mana that mutated over a long period of time and exposure to other varieties and forms of magic, such as fonons or aer."

"Where's my squirrel stuffy?"

"Or it may possibly be a mixture of the three that have melded together and... are you listening to me?"

"No... found it!" Laela picked the toy squirrel off of the ground and tucked it under her arm.

Tenebrae sighed. "Here, why don't you ride on my back and I fly you there?"

"Okay!" Laela hopped onto his back and fell asleep almost immediately. Tenebrae simply sighed and flew off, floating through the mist.

* * *

Kai woke up in a bed. The only problem with this bed was that it wasn't his. This wasn't his room either. It wasn't even the same area, he could tell from looking out the window. And it was kind of starting to freak him out... He didn't even remember why he was here. "...Aqua?" He said quietly, and the Centurion Spirit formed next to him, letting him relax a bit. "What happened? Where are we?"

"We were under attack and went to Lloyd and Colette's house." Aqua gave a brief explanation.

"Oh yeah... hey, does that mean I get to play with Rina and Nathan? Are they here too?" Kai jumped out of bed and rushed towards the door to meet up with his friends. On the other side of the room was Lloyd, who had escaped Kai's notice. Even though he was older he still had the same badass-yet-kinda-retarded red outfit on him, but instead of his old cheery smile, he had a sad sympathetic one.

"When are you gonna tell him about his family?" He asked.

"As long as I can put it off," said Aqua. "If we're lucky, Mizuho will find them before he realizes they were ever gone."

"I... I hope so." Lloyd exited the room, trying to look as happy as possible.

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Whoever had captured Lucy and her parents sure didn't put much effort into making the jail cell. Sure it was sturdy and she'd have a hard time getting out, but it was just a small stone cave with metal bars at the entrance. Lucy had attempted to dig through the dirt to reach the bars and tear them out, but then she hit concrete. Turns out they thought ahead after all.

Not only that, but she was stuck with virtually nothing, except her clothes and gray squirrel that she kept with her. It seemed to have become a tradition for her and her siblings, to have a stuffed squirrel toy. What else did she have? Lint. Yeah, that'll come in handy. She barely had room to stand let alone lay on the floor.

Outside of her cell, if you could even call it that, was an even larger cave. It seemed as if someone had carved a hole out of the side of the large one and built a ladder reaching up to it. They even had a little platform for it. Oh, and the worst part? She could see the forest, the river, some fields and a sun rising outside of the bigger cave and she wasn't even able to roam the land outside. This was possibly the worst kind of torture ever, in her opinion.

Footsteps echoed in the cave, and this... thing approached, a slut following behind closely. Well, it wasn't really a thing, it was a half-elf bodybuilder with bright red dreadlocks and and a bright purple coat, followed by a green haired slut with mechanical plates floating around her. And man were they both ugly as hell... The slut said something to the eyesore, who walked off. Lucy crouched down in her cell as far as she could, hoping that she wouldn't see her and forget she was there. Because they must have come for her, right? Who else could there be?

Lucy's fear became a reality when the slut levitated to her cage and set something down in front of her. Lucy stared at the bread in front of her, she hadn't realized how hungry she was. "Thanks," she mumbled at the slut as she shoved the bread down her face.

"I'd save that if I were you. That's all you're getting today." The slut looked at Lucy, almost seeming bored. "I am Pronyma, and I know who you are so don't bother. We'll be keeping you here for awhile. Don't even think about trying to escape."

"Hmm... I wasn't, but you just gave me an idea," said Lucy, resulting in a slap.

"Attempt such a thing and you will be executed. Got that?" Pronyma growled.

Lucy gave her a hateful glare and nodded. "Wait! What about Mom and Dad?"

Pronyma faced away from her. "They're being locked up elsewhere. And remember, we're watching you."

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**Holy flying fishmuffins! Seven pages! ...Almost. Anyways, Review and critique and stuff! I wanna know if anyone gives a crap about this so I can make more chapters! Well, I'll probably make more anyway, but reviews are like fuel! It'll make me write faster. :P**

**So as for new characters, we have Laela, Lucy, Kai, Shade, Rina and Nathan. Two of which have only been mentioned. Don't worry, I have about a few infinities of characters to dump on your heads. Insert cheesalicous line here as I heroically exit! *Dun dududun!***


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